


No Quarter

by scapeartist



Series: 15-Minute Masterpieces [8]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captain Hook | Killian Jones Backstory, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-05 20:58:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6723190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scapeartist/pseuds/scapeartist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The prompt for this story was "Killian Jones and worthy." His uniform shed, his ship renamed, his men free, and one short speech later, Lieutenant Jones is no more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Quarter

**Author's Note:**

> Each one-shot in this series is part of a writing prompt exercise. I was having some trouble getting into the writing groove again and asked for a word and a character, and from there I would spend at least 15 minutes writing, I would not heavily edit, nor would I use a beta. This was purely me needing to get my brain moving. The "Masterpiece" part is tongue-in-cheek (even if most of these are not bad at all).

_“And when they come for us, I want them to know exactly what we are: pirates!”_

His uniform shed, his ship renamed, his men free, and one short speech later, Lieutenant Jones is no more.

_The Captain is dead, long live the Captain._

Killian promises his men they’ll live by their own rules; he promises they’ll take everything from the corrupt kingdom they can. He means it. Killian also knows that same promise marks them as wanted men. They’ll be hunted, and there will be no rest.

That’s fine by him. Let them come. In droves.

Killian does not want to rest. He cannot dwell on what it means to be alone in this world—without Liam—or it will drown him in a way even the deepest waters would envy. Killian Jones wants nothing more than to strip the kingdom bare and set it ablaze until there is nothing recognizable left. He will make the King wish he’d never sent the Jones brothers to Neverland for that bloody plant. He may have once had a loyal servant in Liam, but in Killian he’ll get the most loyal of enemies.

He and his men will be pirates. The scourge of the seas.

_“We’ll give our enemies no quarter.”_

Setting course for the King’s waterways, the men prepare the new flag. Crimson. The color of the blood he will spill and the blood he will shed making the King pay for all he’s taken. But he won’t let that flag fly until the right moment. There is nothing to be gained by announcing his allegiance to himself so quickly.

The quartermaster finishes divvying up munitions from the hold below amongst the small canon that line the ship’s deck. His crew readies the _Jewel_ — _The Jolly Roger_ —for what is coming. Battle. It is only a matter of time.

“Sails!” the bo’sun calls out.

Perhaps no time.

Lifting his spyglass he recognizes the frigate, _Valiant_.  

_Captain Paulson_ , Killian thinks. He had been a mentor to Liam. _Pity_. They’ll see each other again soon.

The time it takes for the ships to approach each other slips by in what feels like a breath. Those men out there have no idea what’s coming. Killian tells his men to keep steady.

“Pretend nothing is amiss,” he says evenly, “but stay close to your battle stations.” Killian presents a calm front to his men when inside he is a maelstrom feeding off itself. 

_No quarter._

He guides the ship to pass within firing range of its port side, and calls out for his men to raise the flag and fire. He learns that day an enchanted ship never misses its mark. Holes are blown in the hull of the King’s ship and Killian can see it taking on water.

Almost finished.

The _Valiant_ is crippled and in chaos as _The Jolly Roger_ maneuvers swiftly around the listing and smoking ship’s starboard side. Killian’s men are already prepared or a second round before _The Valiant_ can even open its gunports. They fire, sweeping the deck of anything standing.

_The Jolly Roger_ pulls in close and Killian and his men board the ship as the smoke rolls and billows, obscuring their arrival.

Swords clang and guns report as the melee fans out across the deck. Killian slashes his way toward the Captain, already bloodied and looking irritated as he defends the helm. When Killian stands before him, the captain narrows his eyes as he recognizes his foe.  

“ _Jones?_ What is the meaning of this? Where is Liam?” he asks. His mistake is making his question sound like a command.

Killian takes a deep breath and clenches his jaw before seething out, “Do _not_ say his name. Do not _ever_ say his name. My brother is _dead_. _I_ am Captain now.”

In his confusion, Captain Paulson, a weathered, wiry man old enough to be his father, let his weapon drop to his side.

“What’s _happened_ , Killian? What are you _doing_?”

“Sending a message to the King.”

In two quick moves, Killian has the Captain completely disarmed, and his own sword point poised in front of the belly of the man before him. The King’s man.

_No quarter._

“This isn’t what your brother would have—”

Killian thrusts his blade into Paulson’s gut and up, bringing all his weight to bear, and pushing it out through Paulson’s back. The Captain sags against him with a gurgle, never finishing his sentence.

“My brother didn’t want to die, either,” Killian says in the man’s ear before sliding his blade back out and letting Paulson fall to the deck. “What’s one more disappointment?”

Cheers go up behind him, and Killian stands, breath heaving and tremors running up his arms and legs.

He wipes his face and sees only blood on his sleeve. The rest of the crew is dispatched save one young boy no older than Killian was when their father abandoned him and Liam. He puts the boy into a rowboat and hands him the envelope with the picture of the dreamshade and a special message for His Majesty.

Pointing to the shore within sight, he tells the obviously frightened lad, “You get this to the King, and then you find yourself a new career. Understood?”

“Aye, Captain…?”

“Jones.”

The boy nods and stuffs the envelope into his jacket.

“Good lad. Get going. Things are about to get hot here.”

From the deck of _The Jolly Roger_ , Killian watches the _Valiant_ burn as the sun sets and he feels nothing. No remorse, no sadness, no fear. Their course is set and there is no turning back.

_No quarter._

“Captain Jones” should have carried a hero’s reputation. Now it will carry fear into the hearts of sailors throughout the realms. A pirate worthy of the name.


End file.
